Some people, even those close to the industry, can drive by farms and farmland and think to themselves or say to others that those farmers are rolling in the dough. I guess that’s human nature – to make a determination based only on what the eye sees. But Laura Blomme as a farmer, wife, and mother from Victor, Iowa seeks to guide folks to another level of understanding. I’ve tried to sum up what she has to say on the subject, and I thank her for her eloquent writing. I encourage you to read her entire blog here: https://theblommencoop.com/2017/02/24/farmers-are-rich/
Granted, there are farmers in this world who do live comfortably. But Blomme points out that a lot of farmers are asset rich and cash poor. She does maintain that all farmers are rich however, but not necessarily in the money department. Here’s what she means:
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Farmers are rich in heritage.
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Farmers are rich in pride.
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Farmers are rich in stress.
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Farmers are rich in knowledge.
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Farmers are rich in optimism.
I’d like to add three more things to the list above that came to my mind. Farmers are rich in determination. How many people in this world would stay at a job year in and year out (especially during these hard economic times) knowing the results may be disappointing at best? Farmers are rich in generosity. They not only work to care for their family, but also to provide for their community and this world. And farmers are rich in perspective. They seem to have a particular attitude towards their lifestyle that enables them to continue on the farming path. While they know that they can control many activities on the farm, they also realize there are other things (like the weather) that are out of their hands. I ran across a joke that provides a great example of this perspective, and in closing would like to share it with you:
It was a disastrous year for the farmers. The snow fell and fell until the government relief agency had to step in and lend a hand. “It must have been terrible,” said the government man to a farmer. “All that snow.” “Could have been worse,” calmly answered the farmer. “My neighbor had more snow than me.” “How’s that?” asked the government man.
“More land,” replied the farmer.
Farmers are probably rich in humor too. I think we can all learn from the true wealth of farmers…
-Terry Olson, Titan Machinery
References:
https://theblommencoop.com/2017/02/24/farmers-are-rich/
https://www.ajokeaday.com/categories/farmer-jokes?pagenumber=16&pagesize=4&filtertype=All&sortingtype=All